Journal Abstracts

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Increasing numbers of people, from age two and upward, are remembering their own birth. They are doing this with a variety of methods and sometimes no method at all. Although controversial for a century, these memories can now be set in a broad empirical framework for the first time. Narrative memories of birth are minidocumentaries of potentially great significance. Four dimensions are cited: 1) Clinical. A growing literature indicates the importance of birth in the creation of many psychological problems.

This paper summarizes results of three investigations: an ecological study dealing with the epidemiology of self-destructive behavior in the United States (unpublished), a case-control study of forensic victims in Stockholm,1 and preliminary results from an ongoing study of amphetamine addicts in Stockholm.2 The results seem alarming. The revealed data suggest that obstetric methods should be modified to prevent damages to future generations.

Clinical observations of the behavior of labor patients and their families along with the recognition of the unique aspects of the mother-daughter relationship directed attention to mother-daughter communication as an influence on the level of anxiety that a woman may experience at the onset of her first labor. Studies on the physiology of labor have provided substantial evidence that as epinephrine levels increase, as a result of anxiety, uterine contractions are less effective and labor is prolonged.

The psychotic individual often presents imagery, hallucinations, and behavior that reflect pre- and peri-natal stress. This paper is a phenomenological study of psychotic adults with a known history of pre- and peri-natal distress. An overall view of psychosis is described as well as the context of a therapeutic community system. The method of body therapy found to be effective with the psychotic individual is delineated and excerpts from actual interviews are included.

A pilot study was conducted to investigate whether psychobiosocial intervention could be a useful adjunct to medical management of premature labor. 44 women threatening premature delivery (range of 20 to 34 weeks gestation) were referred by hospital clinicians. Nineteen of these patients were hospitalized, 28 were on tocolytic medication, and 42 on total bedrest. Hypnosis was used with all subjects; 77% also received body awareness techniques designed to decrease autonomic reactivity and muscle tension. Average treatment was seven two-hour sessions over three weeks.

While pain control in children has been poor in the past, pain control in neonates has been virtually neglected. In this review, I examine the rationalizations for not treating pain in neonates, then discuss three areas where pain control needs improvement, specifically, in surgical anesthesia, in analgesia for circumcision, and in analgesia following surgery. Suggestions are made for improving care in all three spheres.